St Peter’s Church of England School, Alvescot

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

There have been a lot of changes at St Peter's during its expansion in recent years. However, the first-class start that children make in early years and the exceptional levels of nurture and support here continue.

A wealth of stimulating learning experiences boost pupils' self-confidence, and positive relationships ensure that they flourish. Parents particularly value the school's focus on equalities and how well staff care for individual children's needs. As one parent commented, 'It's worth travelling to get your children here.'



Promoting a love of reading is at the heart of the curriculum. Children in Reception are enthusiastic early readers. Staff skil...fully encourage older pupils to become confident and expressive readers.

Pupils achieve well in writing and mathematics and have a wide range of opportunities to learn across the curriculum. There are excellent relationships between leaders and families. Staff support vulnerable pupils and those with special educational needs/and or disabilities (SEND) well.

Pupils' care and respect for each other are clear; teasing and unkindness are not tolerated here. Typically, pupils are attentive in lessons and want to do well. Around the school, pupils interact warmly with each other and the adults that look after them.

As a result, pupils are happy and feel safe.

What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

The headteacher and her staff have worked tirelessly over recent years to expand the school from an infant school into a primary school to meet local needs. While doing this they have maintained the school's key strengths in early years and the excellent personal development it provides to pupils.

Parents enthuse about how much the school offers their children. They have nothing but praise for the headteacher and her team.

Right from their first days in Reception, adults capably support children's language and communication skills, encouraging their imaginations.

Strong relationships and effective communication with families are coupled with skilled teaching. The vibrant and engaging learning environment is highly motivational. Well-organised language and number-rich activities encourage independence.

This ensures that all children are supported particularly well and make strong progress across the early learning goals.

Staff ensure that pupils receive a good quality of education. Leaders have ensured that the teaching of phonics is well structured and effective.

Consequently, pupils in Reception and Year 1 learn to read well and delight in stories. Older pupils develop a strong grasp of how writers convey ideas, characters and themes in texts. The standard of reading in both key stages is high.

Leaders and governors have high aspirations for pupils. Lessons are enhanced by a rich variety of experiences that help make learning relevant to real life. Leaders use and adapt resources to plan a curriculum that both prepares pupils for the future and inspires them to learn.

Leaders' plans seek to build appropriately on pupils' knowledge and skills across a wide range of subjects. However, for some subjects, progression from early years to upper key stage 2 is more precisely developed than for others. Sometimes, for example in science and history, the work does not connect as closely as it could to pupils' prior learning and experiences.

Occasionally when this happens a minority of pupils can lack concentration, chatter or become distracted. This is quickly resolved by staff.

Very strong leadership from the headteacher ensures that pupils with SEND are included in every aspect of school life.

Staff prioritise their well-being, enabling them to learn well. Older pupils are highly empathetic, inclusive and friendly towards pupils with SEND.

The curriculum promotes spiritual, social and moral development very well.

A wealth of rich and stimulating learning opportunities encourages pupils to be outward-looking and well prepared for life in modern Britain. Pupils delight in being on the school council, acting as 'young leaders' and supporting younger children at breaktimes. These opportunities help them to reflect on the community within the school and cultivate their leadership skills very well.

Governors know the school well and share the headteacher's vision. They use their frequent visits to the school to pose effective challenge. Staff feel well supported and value training opportunities from local networks and the multi-academy trust.

They are unanimous in their praise of the school. Staff, parents and pupils described St Peter's to inspectors as a family.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Safeguarding leaders have up-to-date expertise in all aspects of safeguarding. All appropriate checks are made on all adults who work with the children in school. The headteacher maintains detailed recording systems and ensures that a comprehensive package of training is available for all staff.

The school works well with external agencies and acts determinedly should any pupils require extra help.

Staff know their pupils and the local community very well. Teachers modify the curriculum to ensure that pupils understand how to keep themselves safe outside of school and when online.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

As the school has expanded there have been changes to the structure of mixed-age classes each year. These have reduced the quality of the school's curriculum sequencing in some subjects. However, it is clear from the actions that leaders have already taken to improve planning in other subjects that they are in the process of bringing about improvements.

Current plans show what must be taught in each subject in each year group. However, in some subjects, such as history and science, these need to be refined so that they make the sequence of subject-specific learning clear. .

Recent staffing changes have resulted in adjustments to subject leadership and the roles of staff. The quality of the school's development planning needs improving to sharpen its focus on subject leadership. Leaders and governors should use this to ensure the consistency of challenge from teachers and teaching assistants across the foundation subjects.